Hi everyone. Basically I'm looking for a Graphics Tablet. I'm a complete noob when it comes to tablets so I was wondering if any of you guys could help. I basically just want something that I can use for learning how to do digital drawing and art and isn't to expensive (sub £60 would be nice). Any suggestions?
ive got the larger wacom bamboo, and while im sure its no use at all for a professional, its great for the light use i have for it.
The closest that fits in your price range is Trust, I think they do an A5 one for about that (or did when I got one, let mum sit on it and it break in half)
Wacom is pretty much where it's at. The Bamboo is about as basic as you'd want to go, otherwise save your monies and get an Intuos. I've used a few other tablets by other manufacturers, like Genius, and while they're not all bad, they're not great either. http://www.wacom.eu/index2.asp?pid=0&lang=en
I use a usb 7" touch screen at 800x480 with third party apps on win 7. I cant believe there are so few people that dont think about this. Andy
You mean, there are so few people that do think of this. If a few people didn't think of this, then most of us would be thinking of it, which would mean your idea would be widespread instead of a novel one. Making sense? And the reason is that using a a real graphics tablet offers more then just the touch space, they usually offer dedicated or programmable buttons that are used in most graphics applications. Not to mention, I can't see how 7" would be even remotely helpful in in any serious work. But the idea is sound. make the screen larger, more sensitive, a pressure sensitive brush, add some hardware buttons and you have a viable product. One that is made by Wacom.
I use an older Wacom Graphire3 tablet. It's only 4x5, cost less than $100, doesn't have any buttons on the tablet itself, and it's something that many "professionals" would scoff at. However, I find that with a little patience and a touch of skill I can do just about anything with it. Since you're a self-admitted noob, and you just want something basic to learn with, you can't go wrong with a Wacom Bamboo. I think they sell for about $70 or less here in the U.S., but you might be able to find it cheaper if you look around.
Another cheap option might be the Genius tablets reviewed here. and the Wacom Bamboo Pen & Touch reviewed here. Though neither off them will give you the control thaty the intuos range gives
Being a non-pro I went for the Wacom Bamboo (the bigger of the two). It was the previous model - white - and works great. The nib on the pen wears down quite quickly though. I bought it from Pixmania as it was the cheapest place I could find at the time. I dont know about sub-£60 though. Maybe a Trust or Aiptek.
Hm I think the bamboo pen and touch looks pretty good and its £70 which isn't completely out of my price range. Thanks very much guys.
I've got the Bamboo Pen+Touch. i can't get very smooth lines with it, but i think thats lack of practice on my part as my flatmate (whos used to using tablets) gets good results with it. one thing to point out is that the win7 drivers are a bit buggy. the tablet has to be plugged into the computer when you start up. if you just plug it in windows only picks it up as a touchpad. and the actual 'touch' part is a bit crap... if you just go fot eh Bamboo pen tablet, its cheaper, and you want miss the multitouch.
Define "smooth lines." Also, is he using your tablet with your computer, or is he using the same model tablet with his own setup? One possible cause for lines that aren't smooth is not having the right settings in your graphics program of choice. In Photoshop, I can configure each tool to use the pen in different ways, including the "smoothness" of the lines. The options are located in the "Brush Presets" menu.
I tried the Bamboo Fun for about two weeks, but simply could not get used to it, ended with me going back to ye olde pen+paper. What I did realize is that you really do need a big surface to do anything serious with them, A4 minimum I'd say. http://www.amazon.co.uk/Trust-Scree...2?ie=UTF8&s=electronics&qid=1263984236&sr=8-2
I mean as in everything i draw is a bit jittery and looks messy. i cant get nice curving lines like i can on paper, but i'm sure i just need a bit of practice... My flatmate was using it on my computer, same settings as me. I've played around with the photoshop settings... some really nice effects with them, but it still doesn't mean i can draw with it having said that, i am getting better.
Hm Judging by what everyone has said its probably worth saving up more money and getting a bigger tablet. Tbh from what I've seen of the pen and touch etc, they seem to be pitched more as note taking and multitouch pad devices rather than for drawing and digital art.
Wacom tablets are the best and the newer versions are more like a macbook touch pad. if you got the cash then A4 size or larger if not then the A5 is just as fine.
